PODCAST · sports
Athlete Voices
by Belicia Tang
Athlete Voices shines the spotlight on all things aesthetic sports. Through interviews with gymnasts, figure skaters, dancers, circus artists, and more, we aim to humanize athletes and de-stigmatize their struggles while inspiring and educating readers through their stories.
Episodes
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Ep. 61: Bruin on the Dance Floor-- From UCLA to the Raiders with Devin Mallory
Devin Mallory is a UCLA Alum, graduating in 2021 with a BA in Worlds Arts and Cultures, Dance and a Minor in Food Studies. During his years in College, Mallory also was the first male on UCLA’s Dance Team and was a co-captain his Senior Year. He is now currently in a full time position with the…
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Ep. 60: From New Zealand to the World Stage: Sarah Nolan's Dance Odyssey
Born and raised in New Zealand, Sarah Nolan competed on the small but competitive Ballroom and Latin scene throughout New Zealand and Australia. After receiving many national titles throughout all age divisions, she also made appearances on morning children’s shows and the 2nd season of New...
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Ep. 59: Behind the Spins: Opal Kale's career as a pole dancer and instructor
Opal Kale is a pole dancer and spin pole enthusiast who draws inspiration from ethereal music and fluid movement. Her pole journey began over a decade ago when she stumbled into a pole studio in Berkeley with zero experience in movement and never looked back. She believes pole dance can be an...
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Ep. 58: Eryn Bartz chases her Broadway dreams in New York City
Eryn Bartz grew up dancing and performing in musical theatre. She moved to New York in 2022 to continue her musical theatre career and attended the Institute for American Musical Theater! After graduating, she continued her dance training at Broadway Dance Center and Steps On Broadway. You can...
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Ep. 57: Kristine Cannon suspends from hoops and hair as an aerialist and aerial coach
Kristine Cannon is an aerialist and aerial coach located in San Francisco, balancing this passion and practice while being the Quality Improvement Director of 2 children’s hospitals. Kristine grew up dancing, but didn’t find aerial arts until the age of 30. Over a decade later, she is still...
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Ep. 56: Dave Lease amasses millions of views on his figure skating YouTube channel
Dave Lease is the host and co-creator of The Skating Lesson. Launched in 2013, TSL provides figure skating news, analysis, technique and interviews with many of the world’s top figure skaters, choreographers, coaches and journalists. Dave is a leading critic of subjectively-judged sports and has...
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Ep. 55: Israeli dancer Yarden Sharon makes her choreographic debut
Yarden Sharon is an Israeli dancer and choreographer currently based in New York. Her dance journey began with a strong love of Irish dance, and she spent 8 years working as an ensemble member and as the lead female dancer in a professional Irish Dance company, while simultaneously diving into…
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Ep. 54: Ann Warque hails from the Bay Area to chase her Broadway dreams
Hailing from the SF Bay Area, Ann is an actor, singer, and dancer with a specialty in musical theatre. From the age of 7, she’s trained in a variety of dance styles including (but not limited to): jazz, ballet, contemporary, hip hop, and tap. She’s also trained in musical theatre, classic, and...
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Ep. 53: Megan Posas teaches and performs Mongolian contortion in San Francisco, Hawaii, and abroad
Megan Posas has an extensive background in performing arts: from years of gymnastics and cheerleading, to yoga, and dance, she eventually fell into the discipline of Mongolian contortion while living in San Francisco. Since entering the circus scene, she has performed duo contortion as well as…
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Ep. 52: Christian Solares empowers his students to compete on the Pro/Am ballroom dance circuit
Christian Solares is a professional ballroom dancer, instructor, coach, and Pro/Am competitor based in the Bay Area. He has been dancing since 2006, competing in amateur and professional fields. Christian teaches all four major ballroom dance styles. By not specializing in any particular style…
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Ep. 51: Carolyn Burch pursues BFA in Musical Theater at Syracuse University
Carolyn Burch is a 19 year old from the San Francisco Bay Area, currently a rising junior in Syracuse University’s BFA Musical Theater program. She began performing at the early age of 7, participating in various community theater productions, as well as her middle school and high school musicals...
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Ep. 50: Professional hip-hop dancer Risa Ono shares her story
Risa Ono (she/her) is a Tokyo native dancer and represented by Rae Dance Agency. She started dancing Hip Hop, Lock, and Street Jazz when she was 16. Once she started her dance journey, she performed in multiple events and started making choreography for her school performances / her hip hop team…
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Ep. 49: Zohar the Nootzel bends on big stages and beyond
Zohar the Nootzel is a passionate multi-disciplinary performer with a deep love for the stage and the magic it brings to audiences. After discovering contortion during her late 20s, she started to train consistently and eventually began to inspire and motivate others to improve their flexibility...
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Season 4 Trailer
Welcome to Season 4 of the Athlete Voices Podcast! On this podcast, I talk about all things aesthetic sports, including gymnastics, dance, figure skating, artistic swimming, circus arts, musical theater, and more. I interview athletes and performers in these disciplines and share their stories.…
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Ep. 48: Wen Soon applies principles of couples therapy to partner sports
Wen Soon is a marriage and family therapist who began competitive Latin ballroom dancing in 2013. Once he became a therapist, his goal was to work with athletes in partner sports who are looking to resolve conflict and enhance their communication skills. On this podcast, he will talk about his...
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Ep. 47: Casey Hersch heals from trauma and illness through Latin ballroom dance
Casey Hersch is a licensed clinical social worker, animal advocate, Regent’s Scholar, health journalist, and avid Latin Ballroom dancer. She is the author of the mental health children’s book I Am Pawso: A Cat Teaches Kids Ways to Turn Around Difficult Situations. As a psychotherapist, Casey...
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Ep. 46: Team USA figure skater Pooja Kalyan continues her skating journey at Brown University
Pooja Kalyan is a former Team USA figure skater and Junior at Brown University. She is a pre-med student studying neuroscience. She represented Team USA from 2016 - 2021 and is a two-time national medalist at the novice and junior level. She is also the first South Asian and first person from...
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Ep. 45: Olympic artistic swimmer Anita Alvarez talks overcoming hurdles, body image, healthy performance mindset, and more
Anita Alvarez is a 27 year-old American artistic swimmer. She is a two-time Olympian, having competed at the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games, and is presently a 2024 Olympic hopeful. Anita is also a 6-time World Championship team member, 2-time World Championship medalist, and 4-time USA Artistic...
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Ep. 44: Tamar Greene shines as George Washington on Hamilton
Tamar Greene is the current George Washington in the Broadway company of Hamilton. Prior to joining the Broadway company, Tamar played the role of George Washington in the Chicago company of Hamilton for a year and a half through its closing. As a proud first-generation American, born of Jamaican...
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Ep. 43: Darian Gemora talks all things hip hop and commercial dancing
Darian Gemora started his dance journey flash mobbing throughout San Francisco and got scouted by the competitive dance team called Funk Beyond Control that ignited his passion for dance. He later moved to a competition team that got second place in America’s Got Talent and was led by SYTYCD...
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Ep. 42: World Champion Latin ballroom dancer Oxana Lebedew shares her story
Oxana Lebedew is a 2-time World Champion Latin ballroom dancer, 8-time German Professional Latin Champion, and Blackpool Dance Festival finalist. In addition to achieving immense competitive success, Oxana has been a professional on the German version of Dancing With the Stars. Her illustrious...
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Ep. 41: Natasha Shevchenko dances Latin ballroom, Lindy Hop, and more
Natasha Shevchenko began her International Latin ballroom dance journey at the age of six in her hometown of Los Angeles, CA. Throughout the almost 20 year journey in Latin she has achieved numerous awards including: USA National Latin Champion, Dutch Open Semi-finalist (Top 10), Blackpool...
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Ep. 40: Parker Lynn competes, performs, and DJs ballroom dancing
Parker Lynn began ballroom dancing at age 15 in his hometown of Idaho. He quickly began competing in ballroom, and after high school, he joined the BYU ballroom dance company for two years. He moved to California afterwards to pursue dance professionally. Along with dancing, he found a passion in...
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Ep. 39: Gino Francisco discusses Muay Thai, the art of 8 limbs
Gino Francisco is head coach and owner of 10th Planet Daly City, a martial arts academy located in the San Francisco Bay Area. A lifelong martial artist and former fighter, Coach Gino specializes in Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, and Mixed Martial Arts. He holds a black belt in Jiu Jitsu and teaches a...
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Ep. 38: Gino Francisco talks all things Jiu Jitsu and martial arts
Gino Francisco is head coach and owner of 10th Planet Daly City, a martial arts academy located in the San Francisco Bay Area. A lifelong martial artist and former fighter, Coach Gino specializes in Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, and Mixed Martial Arts. He holds a black belt in Jiu Jitsu and teaches a...
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Ep. 37: Elizabeth Balikian talks national team rhythmic gymnastics and memorable competition moments
Elizabeth Balikian is a 16 year-old USA rhythmic gymnastics national team member. Her first international competition was Miss Valentine in Estonia, and she received a silver medal in ribbon. She made the Elite National Qualifiers for 4 years and was the 2019 Junior State all-around champion....
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Ep. 36: Competitive Latin ballroom dancer Kennedy Eaton wins the Under 21 Blackpool Dance Festival Championship
Kennedy Eaton is a ballroom dancer from San Jose, California. She moved to New Jersey in September of 2020 to further pursue her dance career with her partner, Dave Firestein. Recently, she won the Under 21 U.S. Nationals, and is also the current Under 21 Blackpool Champion. Connect with Kennedy:...
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Ep. 35: Naomi Skotnikov talks juggling national team rhythmic gymnastics and university
Naomi Skotnikov is a senior national team rhythmic gymnast. She is a three time rhythmic USA national team member and has been an elite level 10 gymnast since she was 11 years old. She is currently balancing rhythmic gymnastics and attending Baylor University as a Honors health science…
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Ep. 34: Qu'in de la Noche seduces and entertains through the art of Burlesque
Cecilia Qu'in is an American Afro-Latin multidisciplinary artist specializing in events management, digital media management, and sex-positive performance art. She goes by her stage name, Qu'in de la Noche, and loves to entertain the masses through Burlesque, the art of seduction. Connect with...
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Season 3 Trailer
Welcome to the Athlete Voices podcast, where we delve deep into all things aesthetic sports. I am very excited to be starting Season 3 of this podcast. We have a great lineup of some incredible guests, including a 2-time world champion ballroom dancer, an Olympic artistic swimmer, national team...
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Ep. 33: Team USA rhythmic gymnast Jazzy Kerber coaches the next generation of gymnasts
Jasmine Kerber, who often goes by “Jazzy,” competed as a member of the United States rhythmic gymnastics National Team from 2009-2015, during which time she represented the U.S. at the 2013, 2014, and 2015 World Championships. Jazzy graduated from Stanford University in June 2020 with a B.A. in...
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Ep. 32: Circus artist Elena Sanders flies and bends to America's Got Talent and beyond
Elena Sanders is a multidisciplinary circus artist specializing in contortion, hula hoops and straps. She began her circus journey when she was in her twenties, and has been touring with circus companies since 2013. In 2017, she was featured on Season 12 of America's Got Talent, where they...
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Ep. 31: Amanda Besyedin popularizes the art of ballroom dancing through YouTube and social media
Amanda Besyedin is a Professional Latin-American Dancer. She is a Blackpool Dance Festival Vice- Champion and a finalist of numerous prestigious competitions in the USA. Amanda is the face of ‘375 Dance Studio’ which is one of the biggest YouTube Channels for Ballroom Dance tutorials and…
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Ep. 30: Lukas and Simona Ališauskas talk ballroom, partnership chemistry, tips for dancers, and more
Lukas and Simona Ališauskas are professional ballroom dancers in the Open Professional Latin dance category. They were born and raised in Kaunas, Lithuania, and moved to the US in 2015. Lukas began competitive dancing at age 4 and set his sights from early on to pursue a professional dance…
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Ep. 29: Former UCLA gymnast Anna Glenn reflects on her 19-year gymnastics career
Anna Glenn is a former UCLA gymnast and graduated in 2020 with a degree in psychology. She is passionate about mental health, and during her time at UCLA, she worked on addressing mental health challenges in the student-athlete population through various organizations. Anna is excited to begin a...
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Ep. 28: Professional ballerina Lauren McArdle leaps to soloist role at The Sarasota Ballet
Lauren McArdle is a professional ballerina and Soloist with The Sarasota Ballet in Florida. Prior to joining the Sarasota Ballet in 2018, Lauren danced professionally with The National Ballet of Canada, and spent time training in Seattle, Vancouver, San Francisco, Pennsylvania, and Amsterdam....
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Ep. 27: Ph.D student Katie Alexander shares insight on the darker side of sport
Katherine “Katie” Alexander is a second year Ph.D student at Utah State University studying Human Development & Family Studies. Her research primarily centers on athlete abuse and maltreatment, with a focus on emotional abuse in the coach-athlete relationship in intercollegiate sport settings....
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Ep. 26: Professional ballerina Masha Cherezova perseveres in her battle against leukemia
Masha Cherezova is a 23 year-old professional ballerina, choreographer, and cancer survivor. In 2019, she left the United States at the age of 19 to pursue her professional career as ballet dancer in Russia. From 2019 to 2022, Masha performed in the corps de ballet with the Novosibirsk Theatre…
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Ep. 25: Circus artist Polina Volchek graces stages internationally through pole sport and aerial arts
Polina Volchek, also known as Pink Puma, has inhabited the brutal environment of sport and show business industries for over 25 years. She was a competitive rhythmic gymnast for 10 years and made the Russian national team. She switched to circus arts at age 17 and specialized in hula hoops and...
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Ep. 24: Tips for athletes featuring sport psychologist Dr. Carly Anderson, Ph.D
Dr. Carly Anderson, Ph.D, is a licensed psychologist, certified mental performance consultant, and former UCLA gymnast. Her first-hand experience as a competitive athlete, coupled with years of professional training and expertise in sport psychology, provides her with unique, valuable insight…
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Ep. 23: Self-introduction from the host
Hey guys, it's Belicia! On this week's episode I thought I'd introduce myself formally and tell you guys about my background in aesthetic sports and why I started this podcast. Connect with me on Instagram: @belicia.tang --- Stay connected with Athlete Voices! Instagram: @athletevoices Website:...
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Ep. 22: Rhythmic gymnastics Olympian Natalie McGiffert works to plan the LA 2028 Olympic Games
Natalie McGiffert is a former USA national team rhythmic gymnast. A Southern California native, she made history as a member of the 2016 rhythmic group gymnastics team that gave Team USA its first ever earned Olympic spot for RG group. She was also a member of the 2015 Pan American Games team…
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Ep 21: Ballroom dancer Andrew Escolme debuts new dance partnership in Professional American Rhythm
Andrew Escolme is a professional ballroom dancer. He began his career dancing in the Latin category, and later pivoted to American Rhythm. He recently debuted a new dance partnership with Asta Sigvaldadottir and hopes to continue bringing authenticity to his dancing while competing at the highest...
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Ep. 20: Rhythmic gymnast Julie Zetlin reflects on her 2012 Olympic experience
Julie Zetlin is a retired American rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2010 U.S. Senior National Champion in Rhythmic Gymnastics and represented the United States at the 2012 Olympic Games. In 2015, she was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame. In this interview Julie and I talk about her...
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Ep. 19: Autumn Steed pirouettes from rhythmic gymnastics to professional ballet
Autumn Steed is from Downers Grove, IL and began her pre-professional ballet training at the Academy of Dance Arts under the direction of Sherry Moray. She is a 2015 National YoungArts Winner and a graduate of Miami City Ballet School’s Pre-Professional Division. At Miami City Ballet, she…
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Ep. 18: Jonas Woolverton Cyr Wheels his way to Cirque du Soleil and beyond
Jonas Woolverton is a cirque performer and specialist in the Cyr Wheel. He ran away to the circus at age 25 and performed with Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas for 11 years. He now performs independently as a wheel artist, actor and filmmaker. Jonas has performed on 5 continents, in over 5,000…
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Ep. 17: 3 Breathing techniques to release anxiety
Follow along as I guide you through 3 types of breathing techniques to release performance anxiety. Do not practice these exercises while operating a moving vehicle. Timestamps: 1:2 Ratio Breathing 1:16 - 2:30 Rhythmic Breathing 2:32 - 3:43 Sighing With Exhalation 3:46 - 5:30 References…
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Ep. 16: Rhythmic gymnast coach Pamela Tang imparts positive coaching philosophy to her athletes
Pamela Tang is a 26 year-old former competitive rhythmic gymnast. After competing in the sport from age 10 to 21 and making Level 10 Elite, she is now the head coach at Tampa Bay Rhythmics. In this interview, Pamela discusses how her positive experiences in the sport have informed her coaching...
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Season 2: Trailer
Welcome to season 2 of the podcast! We have several guests lined up, dancers, gymnasts, Cirque du Soleil artists, and more. This season we will also focus more on sport psychology and feature things like guided meditations, episodes on how to practice imagery, progressive muscle relaxation...
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Ep. 15: Contortionist Tori Kubick squeezes into boxes to find inner peace and liberation
Tori Kubick, aka, conTORItion, is a professional contortionist, calmness connoisseur, world class performer, TEDx speaker, writer, and world traveler. Growing up as an award winning dancer, she later found her true love, the antiquated art form of Mongolian contortion. She kept pushing the odds,...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Athlete Voices shines the spotlight on all things aesthetic sports. Through interviews with gymnasts, figure skaters, dancers, circus artists, and more, we aim to humanize athletes and de-stigmatize their struggles while inspiring and educating readers through their stories.
HOSTED BY
Belicia Tang
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Athlete Voices have?
Athlete Voices currently has 65 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Athlete Voices about?
Athlete Voices shines the spotlight on all things aesthetic sports. Through interviews with gymnasts, figure skaters, dancers, circus artists, and more, we aim to humanize athletes and de-stigmatize their struggles while inspiring and educating readers through their stories.
How often does Athlete Voices release new episodes?
Athlete Voices has 65 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Athlete Voices?
You can listen to Athlete Voices on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Athlete Voices?
Athlete Voices is created and hosted by Belicia Tang.
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